The climate in South Africa
Average daytime and nighttime temperaturesAll climate diagrams on this page result from the collected data of 30 weather stations.
Weather stations at an altitude above 1700m have not been included.
All data correspond to the average monthly values of the last 20 years.
Back to overview: South Africa
Climate zone: The northern part of South Africa is located in the equatorial tropics, the southern parts of the country belong geographically to the subtropics.
In 8 months the average temperatures are over 25 degrees. Pleasant water temperatures of up to 22 degrees even invite you to take a bath in the warm season. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Northern Cape. The coldest is Western Cape.
In 8 months the average temperatures are over 25 degrees. Pleasant water temperatures of up to 22 degrees even invite you to take a bath in the warm season. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Northern Cape. The coldest is Western Cape.
› Duration of daylight and sunshine in South Africa
› Compare climate with other regions or countries
› Compare climate with other regions or countries
Hours of sunshine per day

Rainy days per month

Precipitation in mm/day

Water temperature

Relative humidity in %

Absolute humidity in g/m³

Country parts in South Africa
All figures per year. For detailed climate data click on the name of the region.country part | Temperature max Ø day | Temperature min Ø night | Sunshine hours | Rainy days | Precipitation | Humidity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Cape | 23.9 °C | 12.5 °C | 3,030 h | 64 | 580 l | 77.0 % |
Gauteng | 24.4 °C | 11.9 °C | 3,103 h | 55 | 664 l | 56.0 % |
KwaZulu-Natal | 25.3 °C | 16.7 °C | 2,446 h | 85 | 916 l | 77.0 % |
Limpopo | 25.9 °C | 12.1 °C | 3,103 h | 40 | 442 l | 57.0 % |
Mpumalanga | 25.1 °C | 12.6 °C | 3,139 h | 55 | 708 l | |
North-West | 24.7 °C | 10.7 °C | 3,212 h | 56 | 631 l | 56.0 % |
Northern Cape | 26.4 °C | 10.6 °C | 3,614 h | 32 | 270 l | 48.0 % |
Orange Free State | 24.1 °C | 7.2 °C | 3,176 h | 62 | 613 l | 56.0 % |
Western Cape | 23.2 °C | 10.7 °C | 3,139 h | 56 | 431 l | 66.0 % |
Temperature records of the last 73 years
The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2022 was reported by the Upington weather station. In January 2016 the record temperature of 45.3 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 48 weather stations in South Africa below 1700 metres altitude, was recorded in 2019 with an average temperature of 14.4 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every 4 to 6 hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 13.1 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 21.5 °C.The coldest day in these 73 years was reported by the weather station Bloemfontein. Here the temperature dropped to -12.2 °C in July 2000. Bloemfontein lies at an altitude of 1353 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1951 with an average temperature of 18.8 °C. In South Africa, it is usual to have about 1.9 degrees more at 20.7 °C for this three-month period.
The most precipitation fell in June 1959. With 20.0 mm per day, the Gough Island weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 73 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Gough Island. The driest region is near Alexander Bay.
Long-term development of temperatures from 1976 - 2021
In contrast to single record values, a long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. A simply calculated average value would give a falsified result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would already decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and falsifies the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 3 measuring points in order to have actually comparable data over as long a period as possible.In the years 1976 to 2021 there were only these 3 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Cape Townort, Upington, Polokwane). From these weather reports we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was January 2016 with 25.0 °C. July 1996 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 10.5 °C.
The average annual temperature was about 18.0 °C in the years after 1976 and about 19.3 °C in the last years before 2021. So in less than 46 years it has increased by about 1.3 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 3 weather stations in South Africa. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of the global warming has been provided separately.
